


November, 2017

by Schuyler



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 16:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2779382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schuyler/pseuds/Schuyler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dex and Nursey feel justified in freaking out. Chowder's mom is coming to visit. </p>
<p>Not that mom.</p>
            </blockquote>





	November, 2017

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shoebats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shoebats/gifts).



“Whoa,” Brews said, walking into the Haus kitchen. “What did I miss?”

“Oh,” Sally mumbled, biting into his apple. “Chowder’s mom is coming to visit.” The kitchen was gleaming and yet Chowder was kneeling on the counter, scrubbing the top of the windows.

“I thought Jack Zimmerman was coming today?” Brews asked, snagging a banana from the carefully arranged fruit bowl on the table in front of Sally.

“Not Zims,” he said, still texting one-handed. “Bittle.”

Chowder emitted a panicked whimper and scrubbed harder.

Sally was still at the table, watching Chowder attempt to clean under the refrigerator with a wet paper towel and a chopstick when Nurse came in. “Really? A Calder Trophy winner is coming to watch you skate this afternoon and you have nothing better to do?”

“This is fascinating.”

“Okay, softies and juniors out.” Brews sighed, but Sally just took his texting to the den.

“Babe,” Nursey said, leaning against the counter closest to the fridge. “You know this place is clean. You worked me and Dex until midnight.”

“But it’s his kitchen! He asked me to look after it!”

“And you know that he’ll love you even if there’s a Cheerio under the fridge.” He bent to drag Chowder away. When they finally came face-to-face, Chowder was pouting. “I’m not Dex. That doesn’t work on me.” He took Chowder’s hands and tugged him out of the kitchen.

“What am I supposed to do until they get here? I’m just gonna panic. This is worse than before a game. I need something to do!”

Nursey smirked. “We can give you something to do.”

*

Nursey sighed. He’d gotten less than ten minutes into a make-out session that was clearly going somewhere when he heard the commotion of at least ten guys coming up the walk. He left Chowder flushed and Dex grinning in the attic and went downstairs to open the door.

“Hey, Cap,” Louie said. He’d already emerged as the leader of the new crop of frogs and, likely, a future captain. “What’s up?”

“Not much. How about you?”

“Y’know. We were in the neighborhood.”

“All of you. Just … in the neighborhood. Half an hour after Bittle tweets that he and Jack are on the road.”

“Oh, did he?” Louie said, sliding through the door. Nursey stepped out of the way to let the rest of the rabble in.

He was still standing there, watching out for anyone else planning to stop by, when Dex came down the stairs. There was already a hickey blooming on his pale throat and Nursey grinned. He fucking loved that. “You’re supposed to be keeping Chowder occupied.”

“We decided it wasn’t as much fun without you,” Dex murmured. “And Chowder finally saw Bitty’s tweet, so now he’s freaking out about his hair.” The hallway was deserted, so Nursey tilted down for a quick kiss. “Hey, um. Do you think Bitty knows about us?”

“There’s no way he doesn’t. He and Chowder talk like twice a week and who else would he ask for advice?” Dex frowned. “It’s fine. I mean, we’re corrupting his little boy, and his boyfriend could probably get us blackballed from all hockey everywhere, but … it will be fine.” Dex frowned harder. “We’ll just not get cornered, okay? If he can’t talk to us, he can’t threaten us.” He shook Dex’s shoulders like before a game and Dex pulled himself up and looked determined.

“Okay. He hasn’t told Chowder to break up with us yet, so we’re probably fine! We just … won’t get cornered.”

*

Chowder felt he was well within his rights to be nervous. In the five months since Bitty graduated, he had started dating Nursey, set the kitchen curtains on fire trying to make a pie for Dex's birthday, started dating Dex, and set a Samwell career shutout record. It had been a long semester. And Bitty had always been there for him, even though he was off living the glamorous life of a NHL boyfriend and writing a cookbook and settling into a new apartment and stuff. He responded to texts always and Skyped Chowder whenever he could. He'd even texted Chowder down from a panic attack about his first time with Dex and Nursey together even though, as Chowder later realized, he'd been in the stands at a Bruins game at the time. He had no idea how he would have survived college without Bitty.

Chowder wondered if he had time to figure out how mousse worked. His hair was ridiculous.

*

“Oh my God! You’re here!” Chowder said, flinging the door open.

“I’m here!” Bitty cried. He was wearing a giant puffy coat and huge fluffy white earmuffs, despite the fact that it wasn’t even snowing. He flung himself at Chowder for a hug. “How are you? How’s Betsy? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss her sometimes. Nursey!”

Chowder let him squeeze through the door to hug Nursey. “How are you? We never talk.” The whirlwind was gone the next minute to attack one of the softies.

On the doorstep, laden with Tupperware, Jack nodded at them. “Chow. Nurse. Good to see you. Nurse, we should talk.” He passed through to the kitchen.

“Guess I might as well go get the playbooks now,” Nursey sighed.

“No!” Bitty suddenly appeared between them, tugging them down the hall. “Food first. Then you can have your captain chat or whatever.”

*

An hour in, Jack was in the den, holding court for the diehard Bruins fans. Or they were grilling him about past games. It was hard to tell.

Bitty, having already resumed ownership of his kitchen, came in with plates piled high with brownies and cookies. When Dex reached for a cookie, Bitty touched his wrist. “No. I made a cherry pie just for you! Come get a slice.” The team took the plates and Dex followed Bitty back to the kitchen.

He was at the table with a slice of his favorite food in the entire world when he realized that he’d fallen into a trap. He was now alone with his boyfriend’s mother on what was decidedly not neutral ground. Bitty sat across the table and grinned at him.

Fuckin’ cherry pie.

*

Nursey had, because of Dex and Jack, started following the Bruins, so when he found the group in the den, he was happy to sit in on the explanation of their new strategy as it related to the previous week’s Penguins match. He was sitting next to Chowder on the sofa, Chowder’s long fingers trying to slide under his thigh without anyone noticing, when he realized that there was a redhead missing. “Where’s Dex?”

“Oh, he went to get pie,” Chowder said. “If you’re going to find him, can you bring me pie too?”

Nurse nodded and got up. He had no idea how long Dex had been gone.

He turned the corner into the kitchen just in time to see Dex going out of the other side, looking shell-shocked. “Nursey!” Bittle said from his spot near the window. “Did you need something?”

“Um. Chowder sent me in for pie?”

“My Lord, I don’t know how that boy stays so thin, considering how much he eats.” Bitty uncovered the cherry pie for slicing. “We’re out of plates, though. Can you get the ones up top? I swear, just as soon as I left Samwell, y’all couldn’t wait to use the high shelves again.”

Nursey found the plates he was talking about, high in the cabinet where beer pong supplies were kept. He set two on the counter (might as well get a slice for himself), and watched Bitty carefully cut wedges. “So, Nursey,” he said, taking forever to cut the pie. “I had a chance to talk to Dex, and you know I talk to Chowder all the time, but I wanted to talk to you.” Nursey nodded and clenched his teeth. He knew how to stand a dressing-down. He wouldn’t have made it on the Andover team otherwise. Bitty slid a perfect piece of cherry pie onto a plate, added a fork, and pushed it over toward Nursey. “How are you?”

Nursey paused with his hand on the fork. Bitty’s eyes were huge with concern. “What?”

“I mean, I don’t know if this is your first relationship with a boy, but I’m betting it’s your first with two, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Even defensemen can get their hearts broken. But you can talk to me any time, okay? I know a little something about sneaking a boyfriend around this house.”

Nursey ducked his head down to hide his smile. “Chowder and Dex are … they're great. You know they are.”

“Well, I’m always gonna worry about my ducklings.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, rolling his eyes and scooping up another bite of his pie.

“Go on then,” Bitty said, pushing the other plate over. “Wouldn’t want your goalie to waste away.”

He felt like a frog again, getting shooed out of Bitty’s kitchen with pie, but he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. Back in the den, Dex had parked himself on Chowder’s other side, where the three of them always sat when games were on or during mandatory Law & Order night. Chowder made a happy squeaking noise when Nursey presented him with pie.

“You talk to Bittle?” Dex asked softly.

“Yeah, it was weird as shit.”

“I know, right?” But he smiled and Nursey smiled too. They had the Mom seal of approval.

Chowder looked up with his fork still in his mouth. “What are you guys talking about?”


End file.
